Pedal to the Metal
by the-Bookworm-Princess
Summary: A friend asked me to write a story with Vala and Lightning McQueen from the movie Cars. This humorous ficlet is the result. Daniel should have known better than to take Vala car shopping...


For Commodore Norrington, who gave the following prompt: _Lightning [McQueen and Vala, with either "Here I come and I'm so not scared, got my pedal to the metal and my hands in the air" or "Look out, you're gonna crash, baby you were screaming It's a blast, blast blast" (or whatever the real lyrics are, you know me and songs...)_

Fic takes place somewhere towards the end of season 10, with a "Bounty" mention that you'll miss if you blink.

* * *

"I don't see why you're so upset, Daniel," Vala said as they walked through the rows and rows of cars. "You only got a few scratches and now you can get a _new_ car." She grinned as she gestured to some of the newest and fanciest models. "A _better_ one."

"I liked the old one," Daniel pouted.

"Oh, Daniel, your old one was a piece of junk compared to these," she insisted, stopping in front of a shiny, red one.

"Remind me again why I let you come with me?" Daniel sighed.

"Because I'm incredibly attractive and have great bargaining skills?" Vala offered.

Daniel fought the urge to roll his eyes. "You stay here and look around. I'm going to talk to the dealership owner." He started walking toward the dealership's office, then called back over his shoulder, "And don't touch anything."

Vala twirled one of her pigtails with her finger as she watched him go. She waited until he was inside, then grinned and turned to the car.

It was a sporty two-door, painted a beautiful bright red. It looked as if it were made to go fast. Vala liked fast. As she looked it over eagerly, she thought it almost looked happy, as if the car itself were smiling. She walked around to the driver side door and tugged on the handle, but it was locked. Oh, how she wanted to get inside and see what it could do.

"Can I help you, ma'am?" came a voice from behind her.

Vala whirled around, startled. She saw a short, stocky man with a handlebar mustache and a greasy comb-over. She batted her eyelashes at him anyway. "Hello. Yes, I think you can help me. I like this car," she said, running her finger down the hood. "Is there any way I could maybe…try it out before I decide whether to purchase it?" She made sure to use her sultry voice.

"You mean test-drive it?" the man asked.

Vala smiled and nodded.

"I'll need to see your driver's license," he said.

Vala reached into the purse Daniel had gotten her as a birthday present last month and withdrew the necessary ID card. She smiled at him as she waited for him to look it over.

The man decided that she matched her picture and handed it back to her with a smile. "Alright, Mrs. Ricardo, just let me get the keys and you'll be all set."

"Thank you," she said.

The man went into the office and came out with a pair of keys a moment later. "I hope you enjoy yourself, ma'am," he said, handing her the keys. "But please return the car in under thirty minutes."

"Absolutely," Vala said with a grin, and then unlocked the car. She slid into the driver's seat and closed the door behind her. She marveled at the interior and inhaled the scent of leather. She stuck the key in the ignition and turned it, and the engine roared to life. She looked down at the pedals beneath her feet. "Now which one…" Mitchell had explained to her the basics of driving on their way back from Kansas, but she'd never actually been behind the wheel herself.

Vala took a guess and pressed the left one with her foot. Nothing happened. She frowned and pressed the one on the right. The engine roared, but the car didn't move. "Why won't you… Oh!" She reached for the gear shift. But before she had a chance to touch it, it suddenly moved itself into first gear. Startled, Vala gripped the wheel and gently pressed on the gas. The car began moving out of its parking place and Vala cautiously turned the wheel, hoping she wouldn't nick any of the other cars on her way out of the parking lot. When her front bumper accidentally grazed the jeep in front of her, the brake depressed and the wheel wrenched itself to the right. Vala's eyebrows went up when she realized that the car was navigating _itself_ out of the parking lot. She let her hands drop to her lap and allowed the car to lead her out. Probably a standard feature on all the _new_ cars, she thought to herself.

The red car pulled up to the highway and put its blinker on, waiting for an upcoming Mack truck to pass. As soon as the semi was out of the way, the gas pedal went down to the floor, the tires squealed, and the red car shot onto the highway. Vala reached frantically for her seatbelt and yanked it on. When the car quickly reached 70 mph, she let out a whoop. "Daniel has _got_ to get one of these," she decided. She looked at the console in front of her and began poking buttons. "How do I get the windows to go down?" she muttered.

As if the car had heard her, the windows began rolling down, letting the rushing wind in to whip her hair about. Vala smiled, loving the feeling. She reached for a knob again, but then withdrew her hand and asked, "How about a little music?"

The radio came to life and an opera song began playing in Italian.

Vala wrinkled her nose. "Not exactly what I had in mind."

There was a crackling as the tuning knobs moved. "He hits the ball and it's going… Whoa! Clear out of the park! Home run!"

Vala shook her head, giggling excitedly as the car went around a curve at 85 mph.

The knobs turned once again and this time an upbeat song with a driving rhythm began playing. "Slow down, you're gonna crash. Baby, you were screaming, 'It's a blast, blast, blast!'"

Vala smiled and began bobbing her head along with the music. "This is good." Seeing that they were on a straight stretch of road, she grinned. "Does this thing go any faster?" she asked the car.

The engines revved loudly and Vala had to roll the windows up when it began increasing speed. She watched as it passed 100...110...120 mph. She'd gone faster than this in spaceships, but in a car, on the ground, it felt faster somehow.

Vala was grinning widely and rocking out to the song, when she suddenly heard a wailing noise in the distance. She ignored it at first, until she realized it was coming closer. She turned to look in the side mirrors, but the car didn't have any. Glancing in the rearview mirror above her head, she saw the flashing lights and realized with a curse that it was a police car.

Vala thought about trying to outrun the cop; she knew this little red car could leave him in the dust. But she was on an outing with Daniel, and didn't want to get into any more trouble with him than she already knew she would be. "Pull over, pull over," she insisted. She didn't know if it was possible for a _car_ to do anything reluctantly, but that was definitely the feeling she got as the red car began slowing. It finally pulled over onto the shoulder and placed itself in park.

Vala banged her head on the steering wheel in frustration. Daniel was _not_ going to be happy about this…

XXXXXX

Vala saw Daniel frowning with his arms crossed as the police cruiser escorted her back into the parking lot of the dealership. She tried her best to smile when she stepped out of the car.

"Is there a problem, officer?" the man who had helped Vala asked.

"Little lady was just having a little too much fun on her test drive," the officer explained. "She was going 120 in a 75 zone."

Daniel gave Vala a stern look. Vala smiled innocently.

After a brief staring contest with his trouble-maker, Daniel said, "Thank you, officer."

The policeman nodded. "Have a nice day," he said, rolling up his window and leaving the parking lot.

"I am _so_ sorry," Daniel apologized to the car salesman.

The man looked over the car. "Well, apart from a few bugs on the windshield, there doesn't appear to be any damage to the car." He still didn't look very happy. He took the keys from Vala, locked the car, and began walking back to the office.

"Vala…" Daniel said sternly.

"Yes, Daniel?"

"Let me see the ticket."

"Actually, the officer found me _so_ attractive that he let me off with a--"

"Vala."

She frowned and pulled the piece of paper out of her purse. She tried her best to look pitiful as he read the ticket.

"And just how are you planning to pay for this…_Lucy_?"

Vala grinned. "With the savings I get you by being incredibly attractive and having great bargaining skills!"

This time Daniel did roll his eyes. He pointed over to the row of cars that were more in his price range. "Go," he ordered.

Vala nodded and began trudging in that direction. After a moment, she looked back at the red car. She smiled when the sunlight flashed off one of the small lightning bolt decals, almost as if the car was winking at her.

Ka-chow.


End file.
